At Least We Have This
by PerfectDisaster22
Summary: When the status quo is upset rather earlier than usual, the Golden Trio and their associates scramble to regain equilibrium. You have no idea how badly I wish this was a crackfic parody, dear readers; in reality it's something I penned years ago, ran across, and decided to post for your amusement.


**Author's Note**: This one-shot dates from May 2008. It began as an RP between me and Henderson. I haven't read it in years, but I remember that it was horrible. Mostly, I'm posting it because it makes me laugh now [amidst all the cringing, because good _Lord_ this is terrible]. I added one line of dialogue in, but as far as edits go, that's about it.

**Warnings**: Mary Sues abound. I gleefully break canon.

* * *

It was a dreary, rainy September 1 as seventeen-year-old seventh year Isabella Cassiopeia Warren boarded the Hogwarts Express. She shook her head, half in disgust at the weather, half to rid herself of the rainwater that had accumulated on her hair, face and wizard's robes. After muttering a spell to dry herself off, she entered one of the train compartments, flopped onto a seat, folded her arms and glared out the window.

Already seated in the opposite seat was her best friend, Henderson Adrienne Radke. She had gotten her short blond hair highlighted purple and green over the summer, and was already dressed in her Gryffindor robes. She had been reading the Muggle magazine _Rolling Stone_ while waiting for her boyfriend, Ron Weasley, to enter the compartment, but upon seeing the mood Isabella was in, she closed the magazine and raised one pierced eyebrow.

"You okay, Bella?"

Bella sighed heavily. "Have I ever mentioned how much I hate my parents?"

Henderson sighed. Though it seemed to be a tradition, if not a rule, for Pureblooded teenagers— including and especially her— to loathe their parents, Bella had turned her detestation into an art form. She had good reason, though; Charles and Amelia Warren were two of the most conceited, aristocratic snobs in England, as well as two of the Dark Lord's elite inner circle. Usually, Bella pretended she wasn't related to them. So if she was complaining about them now, they must've done something especially heinous.

"What'd they do now?" Henderson asked.

"Got me betrothed," Bella muttered, impatiently flicking her blond ponytail off her shoulder and rolling her ocean blue eyes.

"WHAT?!" Henderson exclaimed, nearly falling off her seat.

"Yeah," Bella nodded, holding up her hand so Henderson could see the silver band studded with three two-carat diamonds that graced her left ring finger.

"Why did I not hear about this?" Henderson asked, examining the ring.

"You don't know the best part," Bella said, laughing bitterly.

"Oh God…" Henderson said, dreading but half-expecting what was about to come out of Bella's mouth.

"Yeah," Bella nodded. "When I graduate, my parents are going to force me to marry Draco Malfoy."

Henderson groaned. She knew all too well how obsessed Bella's parents were with preserving the purity of their blood, so she wasn't surprised at all that they'd arranged the marriage of their youngest child and only daughter to the paragon of Pureblooded, future Death Eater arrogance that was Draco Lucius Malfoy. Had Bella been any other Pureblood, she would've had no problem with this arrangement; after all, almost every Pureblooded girl in the UK was dying to be united to the House of Malfoy.

But Isabella Warren and Henderson Radke weren't typical Purebloods. Matter of fact, they were the poster children for the antithesis of a Pureblood. They both deplored their families, the Dark Lord, and his cronies, and wished for nothing more than for the aristocracy into which they'd been born to be cast down along with their wretched master, preferably by the hand of Harry Potter.

"You… Malfoy… betrothed… I'm going to kill your parents," Henderson muttered, rolling her heavily kohl-lined eyes and hitting her head repeatedly against the back of the seat, unfolding her arms to play with the several rings on her fingers.

"WHAT?!" came the exclamations of the Golden Trio as they walked through the door.

Bella and Henderson looked up at the newcomers. Ron looked about the same as always; tall and gangly, and something of a dork, he immediately lunged for the seat next to Henderson, pushing his long red hair out of his face. Hermione, her arms full of books as usual, sat on Henderson's other side, momentarily forgetting her reading to stare at the girls in shock. Harry looked completely in shock, as well as furious, his emerald eyes snapping with fire behind his messy black hair as he lowered himself into the seat next to Bella.

"Take a number and queue up, Henderson," Bella groaned, burying her face in her hands. "And as if that weren't bad enough, they want me to spy on Harry."

"They what?!" Harry exclaimed.

"You sound surprised, Harry," Hermione said caustically (sarcasm having been one of the things she'd picked up from Henderson). "Of all the children of the Death Eaters, Bella and Henderson are the two who have the best access to you."

"I know that!" Harry said. "But… still…"

Bella nodded. "So yeah, I'm just gonna make up a bunch of shit about you, Harry, and dare Voldemort to tell me different. Then I'll figure out how to break this betrothal shit."

"Whaddyou mean?" Harry asked. "Can't you just say no?"

Bella gave him a Look. "Wow, Harry. That was simplistic even by your standards. No, I can't just break it. Not only am I bound to Malfoy by a blood oath and by promise rings, they have me under a Fidelius Charm."

Hermione groaned. "So the only way to break it is _fidelis amor primoris basium_." When Harry and Ron looked at her cluelessly, she sighed heavily. "Do you two _never_ read?"

"Why should we, when we have you?" Ron grinned. "You're like our own personal library!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "_F__idelis amor primoris basium _means True Love's First Kiss. Supposedly, it's the only magic strong enough to break spells like the Fidelius Charm, because the emotions used to trigger the magic are the strongest emotions in existence."

Bella blushed and determinedly looked out the window in a furious attempt to keep from thinking. She was seventeen, and had never been kissed (despite repeated attempts by Malfoy at various social functions over the years). Silly, maybe, and perhaps embarrassing. But somehow she'd always sensed that she should save that first kiss for something truly important, and hopefully that foresight would be her salvation. Now she just had to _find_ her true love.

Henderson groaned and stood. "That's it, Ima kill Malfoy, then."

She left Harry, Ron, Hermione and Bella in the compartment and started walking the halls, looking for Malfoy. She found him two cars later, walking the hall with his slut and the goons. Growling, she slammed him against the wall and began to choke him.

"What… the fuck… Henderson?!" Draco growled.

Henderson tightened her grip on his throat, snarling. "I never did like you, Malfoy. But now that you're betrothed to Bella, I despise you even more."

"Not… my fault!" Draco said, flailing as he tried to fight her back.

"Drakie!" Pansy shrieked, trying to pull Henderson back, but she was thrown off with just a shake of Henderson's arm.

"Your parents do whatever you want, you could've told them no!" Henderson growled.

Draco shook his head. Henderson rolled her eyes before narrowing them.

"And why should I believe you?" she asked, her voice dangerously low.

"The Dark Lord… ordered it…" Draco panted, now turning purple.

"Then-"

"_Henderson_!"

Henderson was yanked away from Draco by a pair of strong hands. As Draco scurried away, followed by his entourage, Henderson turned and looked up into the face of Sirius Black, the new Potions master (Snape having had to go into hiding to escape Voldemort's wrath).

Sirius sighed and folded his arms. "I know you hate him, but choking people is bad."

Henderson folded her own arms, unrepentant. "Yeah, but now the little weasel is betrothed to Bella."

Upon hearing the name of one of his favorite cousins in conjunction with Malfoy's, Sirius choked on air.

"But what about Harry?" he managed to splutter.

"She's supposed to be spying on him," Henderson muttered. "Her fucking parents ordered it, on the command of the Dark Lord."

"I meant, why didn't Bella stop the betrothal?" Sirius asked. "I thought she fancied Harry."

"Oh, she does," Henderson said. "And he fancies her. Voldie-poo must know it, or at least suspect it. Probably thanks to being able to read Harry's mind. Hence the spying."

"Great," Sirius sighed, his mind kicking into high gear. "So they'll be bound through the promise rings, probably some sort of blood oath, and some form of fidelity charm, if I know Voldemort."

"Very good," Henderson nodded. "She's under the Fidelius Charm."

"Just perfect," Sirius muttered, before sighing. "So other than that, how're things?"

"Besides everything being shot to Hell?" Henderson asked with a bitter grin. "So far so good."

"Good," Sirius nodded. "I'll talk to the Order and we'll see if we can't get something figured out. Other than that, no more choking Malfoy, or I'll give you detention with Trelawney."

"Aww, damn, I can't have detention with you, Professor?" Henderson asked with a smirk.

"Nope," Sirius said. "Because that would encourage you to misbehave, and as a Professor I'm not supposed to condone that."

Henderson raised an amused eyebrow. "Someone's taking their job seriously."

Sirius shrugged. "Have to pretend I'm an adult, now don't I?"

Henderson snickered. "That'll be the day."

Sirius grinned. "Or maybe I have to pretend to be responsible, so all the frightened mothers won't worry so much about sending their children to learn from a murderer."

"Acquitted of all charges. And what if I want to behave badly?"

"Go ahead. Just don't let me catch you."

Sirius tossed her a wink and headed off to the compartment he was sharing with Lupin, who'd been invited back as the DADA professor. Henderson smirked to herself, then wrote Sirius a note telling him to meet her in the back of the train in half an hour. She slid it under his compartment door and walked off, whistling to herself.

* * *

Bella sat in the compartment moodily, her arms folded and her brows drawn together over her stormy blue eyes. She glared out the window, indulging in a first-class sulk. Harry sat beside her, his expression matching hers, as he silently fumed over the situation. Hermione had buried herself in her book, but couldn't wipe the troubled expression off her face. Ron merely sat there, staring into space, amused by how Bella and Harry looked like angry two-year-olds, but highly conscious of the tension in the air.

"I almost killed him," Henderson announced as she walked back into the compartment.

"Almost?" Bella asked. "Pity, you should've finished the job."

Henderson shrugged and sat beside Ron. "I would've, but Sirius interfered."

"He would. He's being responsible and it's frightening me." Bella sighed. "Well, despite all of it… I'm still in Gryffindor. For now. So that'll continue to piss off my parents," she smirked.

"Which is good!" Harry nodded.

"Until they force me into Slytherin," she sighed.

Harry frowned. "Don't you dare. I'll disown you."

Henderson groaned, whacking her head against the seat. "Harry, be a dear and kill Voldemort next time you run into him, would you? The two of you keep playing this extended game of Cat and Mouse, and it's beginning to annoy."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Horcruxes, remember?"

Henderson groaned again, whacking her head harder this time. "Fucking arsehole, has to go and make six of himself."

"Yeah, yeah," Harry said, not pleased at being reminded about having to hunt down the Horcruxes. "I have other things to worry about at the moment, though. Voldemort will have to wait."

Henderson barely contained a smirk; she knew what these "other things" he had to worry about were, and most of them were about the girl sitting beside him.

"Right," she said, glancing at her watch. "Ron, Hermione, go to the prefect compartment, they need you two. I've got… something to attend to."

She cleared her throat and left quickly, heading for the back of the train. Ron and Hermione exchanged glances and shrugged, leaving quickly once they realized what Henderson had been trying to do. Bella snickered as everyone left.

"And then there were two."

Harry bit his lip, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. "Er… Bella… I have something to tell you."

She glanced at him, an amused look on her face. "How many rules have you broken this time?"

Harry laughed. "None… yet…"

"Well that's good news," Bella nodded.

Harry took a deep breath. _It's now or never…_

"I like you a lot," he blurted out.

Bella looked up at Harry shyly, not entirely sure she'd heard him correctly. "Really?"

He bit his lip and nodded, almost terrified to see what her reaction would be.

Bella smiled a bit to herself and looked down. "I thought you liked Cho. Or Ginny."

"I did… but not as much as you," Harry admitted, looking down and fighting back the hot blush that was spreading across his neck and cheeks.

It was Bella's turn to blush. "I always liked you," she admitted, glancing at him.

Harry met her gaze, astonished. "Really? I always liked you too… ever since first year!"

They both laughed a bit as they remembered their rather memorable meeting. It had been an early morning, and Harry and Ron were racing to get to breakfast before their first class. They'd slid down the banisters of the boys' dormitory steps, and Harry had met Bella on the landing, knocking her over and landing on top of her. She'd sworn a right bloody oath at him, and they'd bickered like cats and dogs for about a week until she saved him from making a stupid mistake in Potions class. From that moment on, they'd been the best of friends.

Bella's smile faded as that memory was chased out of her head by the thought that she and Harry could never be together. He caught the expression on her face, and groaned.

"Goddamnit, why didn't I tell you sooner?" he muttered, cursing himself.

Bella shrugged in a would-be nonchalant manner. "Because you're you?" She tried to grin, and imitated Harry's voice as she continued. "Love is for people who have their entire lives before them, not for people like me who don't know if they'll live to see tomorrow."

Harry groaned. When spoken like that, it sounded really, really bad. "I'm an arse."

"No you're not," Bella said soothingly.

"I am too," he said stubbornly.  
"Well, maybe a little," she acknowledged.  
Harry nodded. "I waited too damn long to tell you, and now I've missed my chance!"

Bella shook her head. "It's not over till you're underground."

Despite himself, he had to smile as that lyric left her mouth. Over the past summer, Harry and Bella had Apparated to visit each other as often as they could manage. He'd occupied himself with educating Bella about Muggle music. She had discovered a definite love of classical, jazz, blues, and punk rock, and had taken to working song lyrics into normal conversation, just to irritate him.

Harry sighed, forcing his mind to the present. "But Malfoy-"

Bella made a face. "Fuck Malfoy. Figuratively, of course."

He grinned as her famous spunk came through. He bit his lip, leaning closer to her, then placed his lips on hers before she could object. As he pulled her closer, her eyes closed, and she kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Suddenly, Bella pulled back, gasping in pain. She looked down at her left hand, to find that the promise ring she'd been given at the betrothal ceremony was glowing bright red. It suddenly burst into a thousand pieces, all of which burned away before they hit the floor.

Harry stared. "What just… happened?"

Bella stared at the carpet, then a slow smile began to spread over her face, despite the pain from the burn marks on her finger. "_Fidelis amor primoris basium_," she said softly before turning to Harry. "Apparently you've made it your mission to save absolutely everyone you know."

"Wait…" he said. "That was… true love's kiss made that break?"

Bella nodded, a little smile ghosting across her face as her cheeks burned. "And it apparently broke the Fidelius Charm, too."

For a moment they just looked at each other. Then Harry leaned in, capturing Bella's lips with his once again. She smiled into the kiss, melting into him as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Just as he began to deepen the kiss-

_BOOM_

* * *

Henderson ambled back to the last train car. There were practically no students back here, which made it a perfect meeting spot. She walked into the only compartment whose door was open and leaned against the frame, smirking.

Sirius looked up at her and held up the note she'd left him. "You shouldn't leave notes like this lying around."

Henderson shrugged. "It was only you and Remus in the compartment."

"But anybody could've stolen it," he said.

"I doubt they would," she said. "Half the students are scared you're going to blast them to smithereens and the other half are terrified Remus will eat them."

"Be that as it may…" Sirius said, unable to contain an amused grin. "There are still future Death Eaters on this train, and who knows what they'd try to pull."

"But they didn't," Henderson said dismissively. "Now, are you sure I can't have detention with you?"

Before he had a chance to answer, she grabbed his tie, pulling him to her, and crashed their lips together.

Their affair had started over the summer, when Henderson and Bella had come to Grimmauld Place after a month at their homes in order to spend their summer with Harry, Ron and Hermione. While Harry and Bella had been busy casting each other lovesick, longing looks, and Ron and Hermione had been fighting the obvious attraction between them, Henderson and Sirius had found excuses to steal away for a half-hour at a time.

Sirius kissed Henderson back, moaning softly, and nodded in response to her question. He grunted as she pushed him into the seat and straddled him, flicking her wand to shut and lock the door.

"I could… lose… my job… for this…" he moaned between kisses.

"If we… get caught…" she murmured.

She pointed her wand at the compartment windows to turn them black and opaque, then put up additional security measures in case someone did wander back here. That done, there was nothing more for them to do but attack each other.

"Wow," Sirius sighed as he lowered himself beside her when they were done.

Henderson nodded, wrapping her arms around him sleepily. "Yeah."

_BOOM_

The entire train shook with the force of the blow. Sirius jumped up, all business now. He threw his robes on and ran down the length of the train, searching for the source of the explosion. Henderson pulled on her robes and ran after him, meeting Harry and Bella (whose fingers were entwined, to her great relief) in the hallway. Despite the seriousness of the moment, Henderson had to grin at Bella's red and well-kissed lips; it was about fucking time…

"What the fuck was that?" Harry asked, gripping his wand.

Bella froze, and silently pointed at the window opposite them, which was icing over. That could only mean one thing…

"Oh, _fuck_!" Harry yelled before running outside, followed by Bella, Henderson, Ron and Hermione.

When they got out there, they joined in the fight that had already broken out between Order members (who had ridden on the train) and the freshly Apparated Death Eaters.

"What the fuck are they doing here?!" Harry bellowed as he dueled with one of them.

"Isn't it obvious?!" Hermione yelled back. "They're here for Bella!"

Harry snarled and threw a wild glance around the field, trying to find Bella before she was captured. She was about 20 yards away, dueling ferociously with Bellatrix Lestrange.

"The Dark Lord is very displeased with you, Isabella," the older woman hissed.

Bella scoffed. "How devastating. Because pleasing him has always been _so_ high up on my priorities list," she sneered, her voice positively dripping with sarcasm.

She ducked and rolled away as Bellatrix screamed, "_Crucio_!" But the Cruciatus Curse was an Unforgivable for a reason; the spell just chased Bella until it hit her. She writhed on the ground, screaming in agony.

Henderson snarled as she dueled with Lucius Malfoy. "Wow, your aim is as bad as your son's. How pitiful."

Lucius glared and threw a Cruciatus Curse at Henderson, who ducked out of the way- almost.

"HENDERSON!" Ron bellowed, hexing Lucius and pulling her out of the way.

Henderson whined in pain, but managed a smile. "Thanks."

"No problem," Ron nodded, quickly Apparating them to Hogwarts for safety.

Meanwhile, Bellatrix raced forward and snatched Bella, almost throwing her to another Death Eater.

"Let me go, you bastard!" Bella shrieked, struggling weakly.

Harry snarled and raced forward, stunning the Death Eater and grabbing Bella before running. Bella tried to run with him, but was still too weak from the Cruciatus Curse, so Harry lifted her into his arms.

"Now what do we do?" Bella asked, watching over Harry's shoulder to be sure no one was following them.

Harry bit his lip, then stopped running and turned on his heel, Apparating them to Grimmauld Place.

"We stay here," he replied, getting them in quickly and laying her on the couch before starting to heal her bruises and wounds.

"Won't they be able to find us?" Bella asked, leaning back into the couch pillows. "I mean, Snape probably told them where this place is."

"There's so many enchantments here, I'd doubt it," Harry responded, finishing up and sitting beside her.

Bella nodded. "Here's hoping."

Harry sighed, his mind tired from trying to work out all the specifics of what had just happened on the train. He glanced at Bella, who looked wan and worried, and made to put an arm around her, but the thought of possible consequences for himself or for Bella stopped him.

Bella sighed and turned to look at him. "So now what do we do? Besides have target practice on Mrs. Black's portrait the first time she opens her mouth, that is."

Harry smiled faintly, words bubbling up in him before he could stop them. "I'd normally kiss you, but I don't want to explode or something."

Bella laughed a bit, fighting back a blush. "I don't think you'd explode. The spells should all be broken, and with all the enchantments on this place, I don't think the Death Eaters could do much."

Harry grinned. "Good, then."

He leaned in and kissed her again, relishing the feel and taste of her lips after spending so many years dreaming about it. With a soft sigh, she kissed back, pulling him in closer. Harry groaned and deepened the kiss, hormones taking over for his rational brain. Without stopping to think any further, he picked Bella up and carried her up two flights of stairs to his room. Consequences be damned; at that moment, she belonged not to Malfoy, not to the Dark Side, but to him. And he meant to claim her, to brand her as his own for the rest of eternity.

* * *

Ron, Hermione and Henderson sat in the Gryffindor common room long after all the other students had arrived, feasted, and gotten to bed. For hours they had sat in their accustomed couches, waiting for Harry and Bella's arrival, for news, for anything at all.

"God fucking damnit," Henderson muttered.

"Well… that came a little sooner than expected…" Ron sighed. "What do you suppose they were after?"

"I have a hunch," Henderson said, trying and failing to bandage her arm, which had been wounded in the battle.

"What's that?" Ron asked as Hermione sat next to Henderson to wrap the bandage for her.

"Nothing," Henderson said, biting her lip.

Hermione gave Henderson a Look. "Bullshit it's nothing."

Henderson raised an eyebrow. "Hermione said 'bullshit'! It's the fucking apocalypse!" she snickered.

Hermione shrugged. "I've spent too much time with you. Now tell us what your hunch is."

Henderson sighed. "They came because of Bella."

"You think?" Hermione asked, biting the inner corner of her lip.

"…Why?" Ron asked.

Henderson stared at Ron. "You are thick, aren't you, Ron? She's betrothed to Malfoy. Voldemort arranged it, so there're spells on them binding them together."

"Yeah, I know all that!" Ron said impatiently. "But what does any of that have to do with what happened?"

"Everything!" Henderson yelped. "Harry and Bella kissed! A lot! That set one of the spells off, and the Death Eaters showed up to punish her!" She groaned. "I should've stopped it."

"They _what_?" Ron asked, jaw dropped.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron. "What could you have done, Henderson? It was bound to happen sooner or later," she said, a hint of a grin on her face.

"If it was here, they would've been safer because of all the enchantments on the school," Henderson fretted.

"Yes, well… it's Harry. He's never had the best timing," Hermione sighed.

"True," Henderson admitted.

Hermione nodded. "Where are they, come to think of it?"

Henderson shrugged. "I don't- fuck, I'll be back," she said before sprinting down to the dungeons.

Sirius looked up quizzically as she ran in. "What's the emergency?"

Henderson panted slightly. "God I'm out of shape." She paused, then shook her head. "Anyways. How secure is Grimmauld Place?"

"Only place I know of that's more secure is Hogwarts," Sirius responded. "Why?"

"Thank God," Henderson sighed, leaning against the desk.

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Henderson, what's going on?"

Henderson cleared her throat. "I think Harry and Bella are there."

"Why aren't they here?" Sirius exclaimed, grabbing his wand and jumping up to go get them.

Henderson grabbed his arm quickly. "Leave them, they're fine."

"They should be here, it's safer," Sirius said.

"Sirius, look at me," Henderson said. "They're fine, they'll be here when everything dies down."

Sirius sighed heavily, throwing himself into his chair. "They should've come here. Harry should've known better."

"They're fine," Henderson said softly. "Harry knows what he's doing."

She had to bite back a snicker at that. She had a pretty good guess of why Harry had wanted to seclude himself at Grimmauld for a few hours with Bella, instead of returning to the Gryffindor tower… but she couldn't very well tell Sirius that.

Sirius sighed and nodded, slowly calming down. Henderson smiled and rubbed his cheek with her thumb.

"Good. Now relax," she said.

"I'm trying. It's not easy, y'know."

Henderson nodded. "I know. But I'm always here if and when you need someone to talk to."

Sirius tried to smile. "I know."

Henderson jumped as a loud thunderclap sounded. Rain started pouring down, lashing against the closed windows, whipped about by the wind.

"Great," she muttered, flinching.

Sirius smiled. "Go back to the common room, it'll be over soon." In response to her pleading glance, he said, "I'd have you stay with me, but I have to go to an Order meeting."

Henderson nodded. "Okay. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

She kissed him quickly and ran back to the common room as fast as she could. God, she hated storms.

* * *

Harry and Bella lay entwined in each others' arms and in the sweat-dampened sheets, drowsy and unwilling to move.

"Wow," he whispered as he kissed the top of her head.

"Yeah," she nodded, laying her head over his heart.

Harry wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer, needing to feel her against him. Bella sighed happily, melting into him. She hadn't thought it was possible to be as happy as she was right now…

Harry bit his lip, unsure if he should speak, but not able to hold it back. "I love you," he said in a voice that was almost a whisper.

Bella tilted her head up, pushing her hair out of her face to look at him. "You mean it?"

Harry bit his lip and nodded, afraid now that he had let his most closely-guarded secret out. To his relief, a small smile grew on her sleepy face.

"I love you too," she murmured.

Harry grinned, partly in pleasure, partly in relief, and kissed her deeply, holding her close as she kissed him back.

Things were just getting interesting-

"Shit," Harry hissed as he heard Sirius Floo in from downstairs. "And now we act like we're sleeping," he said as he pulled on boxers and PJ pants.

Bella groaned, but dressed. Harry gently grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back to him, curling around her as she cuddled into the pillow. Harry fell asleep quickly, a small smile on his face. Bella watched him for a while, smiling happily to herself, before getting up and reaching for the Floo powder.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Hogwarts, Henderson was back to pacing in the Gryffindor common room, muttering complaints about teaching rules and Order meetings. She barely noticed as Ron walked down the boys' stairs. Upon seeing Henderson, he raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" he asked in a knowing voice.

"What?" she asked, her head snapping up. "Oh… nothing."

"You liar," he said fondly.

"I'm fine," she said immediately.

Ron sighed. "If you say so."

"It's just the storm, that's all," she said dismissively.

_And someone who's twenty years older than me and a fucking teacher_, she mentally added.

"It should be over soon," Ron said.

Henderson crawled into Ron's lap and buried her face in his shoulder. "I hate storms."

"They can't hurt you," Ron said, holding her close.

"They're scary though!" she whined.

"It's just the angels bowling," Ron said. "Or Elvis giving a concert. Or something."

"That helped," Henderson said, a faint smile growing on her face and slowly calming down.

Ron smiled. "Good."

Henderson rested her head on his shoulder and sighed, her mind racing with the thoughts of everything that had happened that day.

"I hate the state of things at the moment," she muttered.

"It'll get better," Ron said with the confidence of someone who knows exactly what he's talking about. "It always does."

"Yeah, but this time Bella's got some kind of trace on her, she's betrothed to Malfoy yet she and Harry are madly in love, and-"

She cut off the thought she was dangerously close to saying. _And I'm continuously cheating on you with Sirius._

Ron sighed. "Dumbledore will know how to break the trace, and most likely the betrothal. Harry and Bella will sort themselves out."

Henderson snickered. "Ten sickles says they've banged each other by now."

"No bet," Ron laughed.

They shared an appreciative snicker; they would really, truly enjoy taking the piss out of Harry and Bella when they finally returned.

Henderson leaned against Ron, smiling slightly. "Where would I be without you?"

"Ummm… you'd be sitting on the other end of the couch instead of in my lap?" Ron said.

Henderson laughed. "True. And you've saved my arse a number of times."

Ron shrugged. "It's a nice arse. It'd be a pity to see anything happen to it," he grinned.

"Well thank you, Ronald," Henderson laughed.

"No problem!" Ron grinned.

They stopped talking when the fire of the common room turned green. For a moment they tensed; who could be allowed to Floo into Hogwarts? They relaxed, however, when a familiar figure stepped out of the fireplace.

"Evening, all," Bella said.

"Hey, she's back!" Henderson grinned.

Bella waved, then sat in her favorite armchair and curled up. For a moment she just looked at the flames through which she had just stepped. A million emotions flashed through her eyes, and Henderson had to smirk when she saw the look on Bella's face; it was the look of a girl who'd been very well loved, indeed.

When nobody broke the silence, Bella drew a breath. "What'd I miss?"

Henderson shrugged. "Nothing, surprisingly."

"Wow. Surprising," Bella said. "Figured Dumbledore would want us in his office, or something."

"C'mon, you know Dumbledore never explains anything until the end of the year," Ron grinned, only half joking.

Henderson laughed. "Besides that, I think he's at the Order meeting."

"There's an Order meeting?" Bella asked curiously. "Huh. Well, now that makes sense."

"Lemme guess, Sirius showed up," Henderson snickered.

Bella nodded. "Cut my good time short."

"Ew," Ron muttered, blushing.

Bella smirked and stood, grabbing a bag of Floo powder. "Anybody care to go and spy on them?"

Henderson smirks. "I was just thinking that."

They all grinned at each other before Flooing to Grimmauld Place. Bella raced upstairs for a few pairs of Extendable Ears that Sirius had bought, then came back down and handed them around.

"Are we all here?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, sir," came a chorus of voices.

"Good," Dumbledore said. "Then let us begin."

"I say Harry's not to leave Hogwarts under any circumstances," Sirius jumped in immediately.

"Oh for goodness' sake, Sirius!" Molly Weasley exclaimed. "That's the first place You-Know-Who will look!"

"It's also the safest!" Sirius argued. "Everybody knows that the safest place to be is where Dumbledore is."

Henderson, Bella and Ron exchanged glances as there were various murmurs of agreement.

"We can't protect him forever," came Lupin's reasonable voice. "Someday soon, he's going to have to go out after Voldemort."

"We can protect him for another year, till he graduates!" Sirius said. "I'm not letting my godson meet the same fate as my best friend!"

Bella bit her lip and glanced at Henderson and Ron. Though none of them liked to think about it, there was a very definite chance that Harry would end up as his parents had.

"We will protect him for as long as we can," Dumbledore said, a note of finality in his voice. "Right now, I'm more concerned about what happened on the Hogwarts Express tonight."

Lupin sighed. "Isabella is betrothed to Draco Malfoy." He paused for a moment. "As we all knew would happen at some point, she and Harry kissed, which set off a trigger to all the Death Eaters and Dementors Voldemort has in England, and they came to punish Bella for her infidelity to Draco."

Bella blushed and leaned her forehead against the wall; she didn't much enjoy having her life analyzed by the Order, even if it was for everybody's good.

"So how are we supposed to protect her?" Molly asked. "You-Know-Who will know if we try to sever the enchantments."

"According to Ron, Hermione, and Henderson, the _fidelis amor primoris basium_ clause kicked in," Sirius said, a noticeable smirk in his voice. "So that breaks the spells she was under, but I'll bet there's still some sort of trace on her."

"Voldemort won't know if Dumbledore's the one to break the traces," Lupin said. "He knows more bloody magic than Voldemort does. He'll surely find something that'll sever the enchantment without Voldemort knowing!"

"Would it not be better to leave the bond for now?" came Shacklebolt's voice. "We could use Isabella to gather more information on the Dark Lord, and on his plans for Potter."

"And use her as bait? No! Never!" Molly yelled.

"That's too dangerous!" Arthur exclaimed at the same time.

Bella pulled away from the wall, throwing down her Extendable Ear in disgust. "Of course, no one stops to consult me about what I might want to do about this situation," she muttered. "I'm just the one that's actually involved."

"You're only seventeen," Henderson shrugged.

"That's legal!" Bella said. "Old enough to join the bloody Order!"

Henderson sighed. "No one cares what we want anymore."

Bella glared at the wall, then turned on her heel and walked upstairs in a huff. Henderson sat on the stairs, her head in her hands, and groaned. Ron shook his head and sat beside her.

"It doesn't matter what the grown-ups want, we all know what Harry's gonna do," Ron said.

"He's gonna go blast Voldemort's fucking head off," Henderson grumbled.

Ron nodded. "And Bella'll be right next to him. Like the rest of us."

Henderson leaned back on the stairs, sighing. "I despise Malfoy and all his lot."

"As do all sane people," Ron said.

Henderson laughed. "Us? Sane?"

"Meh," Ron said. "You know what I mean."

"Yep," she nodded.

Henderson and Ron watched as most of the Order members left Grimmauld Place via Floo powder, until the only adults remaining were Sirius and Remus. Upon seeing them on the stairs, Remus laughed.

"Should've known you lot would be spying," he grinned.

"Spying? We weren't spying," Ron said, an innocent face on.

"Right, and I follow the rules," Sirius said dryly, winking at Henderson. Remus, catching the wink, rolled his eyes.

"All we were doing was keeping Bella company while she spied on you!" Ron nodded, smiling.

Henderson smacked her forehead with her palm. "Way to go, Ronald," she muttered.

"What?" Ron asked.

Henderson shook her head. "Nothing, nothing."

She kissed Ron on the forehead before going to the kitchen for a drink.

* * *

Bella walked up to Harry's bedroom, still angry, though the sight of Harry sitting up in bed made her feel a lot better. He looked up at her, blinking sleepily, his dopey eyes and tousled hair revealing that he had only just awoken. He was the embodiment of adorable, and she had to smile as she climbed onto the bed.

"So, anything interesting go on?" he asked.

Bella shrugged as she settled herself in his lap. "The usual. They don't want you leaving Hogwarts, they want to protect you, and they're debating whether to break the trace on me. Some of them want to use me as a spy against Voldie."

"Ah. I wonder why they think I'll listen to them," Harry mused.

Bella shrugged. "No idea."

Harry whacked his head against the pillow. "I hate this!"

"I know you do," Bella said, cuddling into him.

"I'm gonna kill him," Harry nodded, sounding like a petulant little boy.

Bella had to laugh. "We all know you will. If you start acting your age."

Harry mock-glared at her, then pouted adorably. Bella smiled and turned in his lap so she could mess with his hair. Harry grinned, then ran his fingers up and down her arm lightly, resting his head on her shoulder. Bella closed her eyes, resting her head against his.

Harry smiled. "I love you."

Bella bit her lip, smiling softly. "I love you too."

Harry grinned. "Good."

He pulled her towards him and kissed her. Bella sighed and kissed back, tangling her fingers in his wild hair. Harry held her as close as he could, deepening the kiss, smiling to himself as Bella shivered and melted into him. He sighed, giving her everything he had in him, which Bella happily reciprocated. Gently, he guided her down onto the bed, relieving her of the unneeded and unwanted clothes she wore.

* * *

Henderson sat in the kitchen in the dark. She sat on the counter, trying to forget everything in a bottle of firewhiskey.

"That doesn't work, you know that, right?"

Henderson almost spit out the alcohol at the unexpected voice behind her. She looked up to see Sirius leaning against the doorframe. She sighed and mock-saluted him, then took another drink.

"It works when I'm drunk," she replied.

"What's so bad that you need to drink?" he asked, his voice full of caring and concern.

Henderson looked down. "The state of everything. The War is getting worse, Bella and Harry's lives are fucked up even more, and… and…"

"They'll pull through," Sirius said soothingly. "They always do. You don't have to worry about them."

"An' I hafta choose 'tween 'oo 'n Won," Henderson slurred, the alcohol now taking effect.

Sirius winced. "There is no choice. You stay with Ron."

She sighed and looked at the floor. "I kno', bu' I jus' with thometimes tha' I' wath wiff 'oo inthead."

Sirius sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead. Henderson hiccupped, nearly falling off the counter as she did so. Sirius picked Henderson up and carried her to her room, putting her to bed. Henderson smirked and pulled Sirius onto the mattress with her.

"Go to sleep, Henderson," he said, gently disentangling himself from her.

"Not tired," she said.

"But you will be soon, you drank most of a bottle of firewhiskey," he said.

She laughed. "You always underestimate my alcohol tolerance," she said, fighting the slur, pulling him down and kissing him.

For a moment they kissed with raw, unbridled passion, not noticing as a tall, lanky redhead walked through the hall and spotted them, staring for a moment before quickly storming away to Hermione's room. It was only when Henderson tried to remove his pants that he paused.

"This isn't right," he said, panting slightly.

"And?" she said.

"And, I'm not doing this when you're drunk," he said, getting off the bed and walking to the door.

Henderson sighed, trying not to be hurt. She cuddled into her pillows, murmuring a drunken "I love you" before she fell asleep.

* * *

Once again, Harry and Bella found themselves tangled up together, sated and tired and completely unwilling to move. Bella smiled and closed her eyes, laying her head over Harry's heart so the sound of his heartbeat filled her ear.

"I could spend forever like this," she murmured.

"I could too," he nodded, kissing the top of her head.

Bella smiled to herself and hugged him closer, never wanting to let him go. Harry smiled as he felt her arms tightening around him, and kissed the top of her head repeatedly. Bella let out a tiny murmur of sound and melted into him.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," Harry grinned. "I always have, and I always will."

Bella smiled, having wanted to hear those words for years, as a blush stole across her cheeks.

Harry's grin widened. "You're adorable when you blush."

"Am not!" Bella protested, blushing further.

"Are too," Harry nodded, before kissing her to shut her up.

Bella inhaled in surprise before kissing back, then laughed. "Wouldn't it be hilarious if Molly walked in now?"

Harry laughed, glancing down at their naked, entwined bodies. "She'd probably have a heart attack."

Bella nodded. "Then things would be all awkward and shit unless we made up a really good excuse."

"Or we just ignore her," Harry nodded lazily, idly tracing the swirling tattoo on Bella's hip.

Bella yawned, her skin rising in goose bumps at his touch. "So what do we do now?"

"Sleep so we're rested for tomorrow?" Harry suggested.

"What's tomorrow?"

"Besides the first day of classes?" he said. "I'm sure around here there'll be something big."

"That you'll have to handle, because you're The Chosen One," Bella smirked.

Harry groaned. "Don't wanna."

"Then… can we just run away?" she suggested.

"Next year we can, but we can't use magic legally until we graduate," Harry sighed. "Fucking Ministry, changing the rules…"

Bella rolled her eyes. "Fuck the Ministry! If they're expecting you to save their pathetic asses they ought to let you use magic whenever the fuck you want."

Harry laughed. "Jesus, Bella, tell us how you really feel. Besides, if we run away, we'll likely get killed. Let's not get ourselves killed just yet, okay?"

Bella sighed heavily. "If you insist. "

Harry smiled. "Now go to sleep."

"Yes Father."

"Coz that's not creepy at all."

"I didn't think so either."

Harry laughed, then closed his eyes and was almost immediately asleep. Bella smiled to herself and curled up next to him, closing her eyes. No matter what happened in the coming weeks— and it was them, she knew that shit would be continually happening (it was what they did)— at least they had this moment. At least they had each other.


End file.
